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@imperialfinegems I've also been digging around auction lots that haven't sold, known counterfiets, etc looking for any sort of marks that look similar to the one on the piece I purchased, and haven't found anything as of yet.
One interesting thing of note though - I just found an incised mark example from Christie's that's signed by a notable jade craftsman of the period. This seems to match near perfectly to the mark that's on the base of the piece I purchased:
"The jade craftsman, Zhu Cai, according to the above record was appointed by the Qianlong Emperor to carve inscriptions on this jade vase. Zhu was a well respected jade carver selected by the Suzhou Central Bureau of Textiles to serve at the palace jade workshop inside the Zaobanchu in the early Qianlong reign. His name is frequently found in the Zaobanchu records between the Qianlong eighth to twenty-second year, in which he was often ordered to inscribe reign marks or Imperial poems, and to execute intricate diaper ground designs on jade pieces, as well as to carve Imperial seals."
Any idea of where I can further research the Qing palace archives to try to find any potential documentation on this?
One other thing I am planning to do is compare the caligraphy of the inscription to known examples of Zhu Cai to find any discrepencies in the mean time.
@imperialfinegems I was doing some more digging around the seller, and turns out that sword I posted earlier is similar to the Hao Shangxian Sword (Daoguang's former guard). The seller had the sword below listed as "Qing Daoguang antique Chinese Imperial Sword"
You mentioned that the sword isn't from the period of Qianlong. Does it looks like it would check out for the Daoguang period?
If the sword that was sold by the seller is from a similar high-status individual as an emperor's guard, the possession of an imperial jade carving might make sense? Here's some more photos of the sword the seller sold:
@imperialfinegems So the piece just arrived, and it's much more detailed when handling it in person. It's really rather phenomenal - Not what I was expecting at all. The seller didn't take the best photos for the listing.
In my opinion I would say the detailing is comparable to other imperial Chilong pieces, for example:
The Bamboo leaves are also exquisite in person (photos don't do it justice). You really get a sense of depth of the piece in person. The gold gilt also has the noticeable wear you'd expect when handling it close up. I've done a few tests and I'm fairly confident it's celadon nephrite.
Quality of the jade appears average; the animal (not a panda) and bamboo combination is a weird design.
@zhtail Did you read the entirety of this thread? The poem is about bamboo and it reaching the clouds. A Chilong (the animal you're referring to) is a hornless dragon or mountain demon. It makes perfect sense for the two Chilongs to be amongst the clouds with the bamboo.
@soccertechie the poem is about young bamboo that will reach cloud up high in the future. Dragon is one step further to be linked with cloud
The adoption of the mythical creature (Chilong) with bamboo was a very well known adaptation with jade's.
It looks like it's genuine nephrite and a fairly desirable even hue. Not as prized as mutton fat jade.
Whilst the carving is nice the quality of the carvers technique is definitely not imperial workshop standards. Far from it unfortunately.
You will notice the the gilt calligraphy has very minute areas of chipping on the sides which indicates a high speed drilling. It also looks a bit shaky.
In my opinion it is a later 20th Century attribute.
Mark
Here is a piece I own featuring a Chilong climbing bamboo from @ 1900-1920. Note the details. Yours is more in line with the Chilong often seen on belt buckles.
@imperialfinegems I'm really not seeing the chipping you're referring to. I think that just may be glare from the pictures? Here's a photo under 5x maginifaction with my camera - you can see the purposeful directions of the strokes well here:
If you inspect each character closely with a 10x loop I don't see any indications of a drill (chipping). It doesn't appear shakey to me at all, and if you compare it to a gold-gilt imperial example below they look practically identical. Especially on the larger bottom seal mark - you can visibly see the lines where it was scraped in, nearly identical to the yellow jade vase example from the well known Imperial inscriber at the time (Zhu Cai). Am I missing something?
@imperialfinegems Also I must say that I prefer the Chilongs on the piece I just acquired rather than the previous Imperial example I provided. The Chilongs on that vase have similar detailing, but appear much more flat. They're not as well formed, and appear more stiff to me. I'd argue if that vase gets an imperial stamp, there's no reason this piece shouldn't.
Hi Brian,
All I can suggest to you is to send it to one or all of major auction rooms and see what they think.
Sam Bernstein from SF was a great dealer who for a fee would have been able to research the piece in detail. Sadly he is no longer with us.
Chipping is often seen on high speed drilling causing very tiny but constant chip on either sides of the carved line. This is dependent on the speed of the drill the the carver is using. It is often masked by very heavy polishing making it almost impossible to tell.
The absolute no wear to or on the gilt is a worry. As is the brightness.
You could ask Peter via his identification process what he thinks.
I have seen a lot of pieces from the later Qing early Republic period with added imperial marks to enhance the value.
Hands-on is preferable to pictures my friend. Jade is difficult to photograph at the best of times.
Whilst the example you have purchased is of good quality it's not imo the standard requirement for imperial workshop. But that's my opinion. Others may disagree.
If you do ask the majors or Peter please let us know.
Either way if it's genuine nephrite then the price you paid is low.
Mark
@imperialfinegems Thanks for the follow up Mark. Definitely some good points you brought up. I've been inspecting the inscriptions with my 20x loop, and don't see any indications of chipping around the character edges. It looks like the inscriptions have very sharp points (almost needle-like), something a drill wouldn't be able to accomplish to my knowledge.
The gilt wear is also very noticeable under 2-5x magnification - it's just in good condition to the naked eye. IMO the brightness isn't a concern after comparing it to several imperial examples I linked earlier in the thread, nor is the level of wear to the gilt.
I did submit an inquiry to Peter last night, and am planning to send it off to the major auction houses today. - I will definitely keep you posted.
Have you seen any later Qing/Republican pieces with the same distinct four character mark on the base? 100% of the copies/fakes I've seen don't match this:
Also I mocked up a little illustration with the piece and poem to show the hue of the jade against the giant bamboo the poet would have been referring to at the time. To my earlier point - Considering the emperor's vision for assimilating the jade carvings to a painting, it would make total sense for a pale green jade to be used instead of the prized white mutton fat color. :
@imperialfinegems Here's a couple more photos with the gilt backlit by a flashlight. Hopefully you can see the wear a little better in these. Gold by nature is a very shiny metal, and as you mentioned jade is not easy to photograph 🙂
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